Farmers in Japan are cooking up new menus for health-conscious Japanese, with dishes like quiche, pizza toast, skewers, tempura and cold Chinese noodles. They share a common but somewhat unusual ingredient: prickly pear cactus.
As one of the few farmers who grow edible cactus in Japan, Miki Deguchi is convinced that the nutrient-packed plant is well on its way to becoming a staple here.
The Opuntia genus, known as prickly pear cactus, is gaining national appeal in Japan for being rich in minerals, dietary fibre and other nutrients. It has a mild, refreshing taste and can even be enjoyed uncooked.
There’s some evidence to back its “superfood” label.
Last year, Chubu University established the Research Initiatives Center for Cactus and Succulent Plant Research for the industrial use of cacti. It’s located in the city of Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, where ornamental cactus cultivation first took off in Japan.
Researchers at the centre confirmed that mice fed a diet mixed with cactus pear powder had elevated levels of mucin, a protein that covers the surface of the intestine and blocks viruses, and enhanced immune function.
“I’m convinced that cactus has great potential as a functional food,” said Mamoru Tanaka, an associate professor of food and nutrition at the university who took part in the research.
Ms Miki, 63, and her husband Motohiko, 63, grow prickly pear on a Kasugai farm set in a “satoyama”,an area between picturesque mountain foothills and arable flat lands. In May, the sounds of birds chirping and frogs croaking resounded near a row of newly sprouted prickly pear. The shoots grow tender and succulent through the fall.
The Deguchis learned to grow the plants in 2015. They now cultivate more than 700 cacti in a paddy acquired from a friend.
Named “Taiyonoha” (Sun Leaves), their plants are sold online and at supermarkets in the city for about 1,800 yen (S$15.9) per kilogram and are also served at high-end restaurants in the prefecture. They are also sold as food for pet turtles.
Prickly pear has long been a favorite food in Latin America, but Ms Miki said she and her husband “want to spread the Japanese way of eating it.”
Their website provides information on how to prepare a variety of recipes such as a fluffy and sticky cactus quiche.
“It’s even delicious on rice with bonito flakes,” Ms Miki said.
Cacti thrive in the desert and are highly resilient. The Deguchis’ cacti do not need pesticides, and they easily withstand heavy rains, even when their roots are submerged.
Farmers in Kasugai began producing ornamental cacti around 1953 and the city has since grown to one of the foremost centers for the plants in Japan, according to city officials.
The Deguchis and one other farmer grow edible cacti, and about 10 restaurants offer menus such as ramen noodles and sweets made with the succulents in the city, they said.
Local elementary and junior high schools serve cactus curry with Japanese croquettes, or korokke, several times a year.
Experts in Japan and abroad alike are also focusing on the potential of edible cactus as a countermeasure to world population growth and climate change.
In 2017, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization highlighted the potential of prickly pear cactus as a resilient and nutritious food source in the face of climate change and food crises.
The organisation emphasised the plant’s ability to thrive in dry and drought-prone areas, providing food, fodder and water for both humans and livestock. It is already being grown for foodstuffs and livestock feed in about 30 countries around the world, including Mexico.
Meanwhile, prickly pear cactus is spreading to other regions of Japan.
In May, Watahan Super Center, a supermarket and home center chain that operates mainly in Nagano Prefecture, began selling the plant at some of its stores. KYODO
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